Owners of gel candle company ‘traumatized’ by injuries, order investigation

The husband-and-wife owners of the company that manufactures of the gel burner that exploded in 14-year-old Michael Hubbard’s face May 28 are “traumatized” by what has happened to the Riverhead boy, according to an adviser, Charles McDonald of Crisis Management Services in Atlanta, Ga.

McDonald said Jerry and KC Cunningham are “very upset” by recent reports of severe injuries sustained when citronella gel burners exploded in two separate incidents the past two weeks and have ordered an investigation into the incidents by an independent safety expert, in addition to asking retailers to put a “precautionary hold on sales of its gel burners and gel fuel in response to recent reports of injuries from its gel burner products.”

In addition to Michael’s severe injuries, from which he remains in critical condition at Stony Brook University Medical Center, a 24-year-old Manhattan man suffered similar injuries in a nearly identical incident on June 4, and is in critical condition in a New York City hospital, according to a report in Saturday’s New York Times. Both Michael and the NYC man are on ventilators, fighting for their lives.

“My wife KC and I decided to take this step when we learned about recent reports of serious injuries,” said Napa owner Jerry Cunningham in a written statement. “We have sold tens of thousands of Fire Burners and fuel during the last two years and have always considered them safe products.”

The company said it is requesting all retailers to temporarily remove gel burners and gel fuel from their shelves “as a precaution.”

Bed Bath and Beyond stores, including the Riverhead store where the pot that injured Michael was purchased, removed the products from their shelves on Friday.

Napa also said it would have “a third party safety expert” review the product’s warning labels and its “care and use” information to make sure it provides accurate and complete safety information to the consumer.

The FireGel ethanol fuel bottle states it is “the Safe Pourable Gel.” In smaller print, the label identifies the
bottle’s contents as “flammable liquid and vapor” and a “Hazard Class 3” substance.

Napa also said its fuel supplier is “having the incidents investigated to determine if there was anything wrong with any batch of fuel.”

The company said its burners and fuel containers already have extensive warnings. The bottle has the OSHA approved warning symbols. The fuel bottle states on the front of the bottle: “Keep out of the reach of children.” Directions advise consumers to “always follow recommended procedures provided by equipment manufacturer. Never add fuel to a burning fire.”

The care and use instructions also warn the consumer to never add fuel when the burner is lit and never pour fuel on an open flame. Consumers are directed not to add fuel to the caramic pot’s stainless steel cylinder until the cylinder is completely cool.

The warnings, said Napa’s Cunningham, “are as good or better than any others in the industry.”

But the problem with the gel pot may not be insufficient warnings. The people who were with the two critically injured victims both say you couldn’t tell the gel pot was lit.

Nancy Reyer, Michael’s mother, who was setting up for a backyard party at her sister’s house when the accident happened, said no flame was visible inside the gel pot.

Jon Mitzman, who was with the critically injured Nick Stone on Mitzman’s Manhattan terrace when the gel pot exploded, told  the N.Y. Times the same thing.

“It looked out,” Mitzman told the Times, “so I went to pour some more fuel in. All I heard was a bang.”

Both Reyer and Mitzman were badly burned trying to extinguish the flames that engulfed the victims. Reyer was treated and released at Peconic Bay Medical Center May 28. Mitzman was hospitalized for his injuries.

Napa said gel burners, which it described as “an important part of Napa’s product line” are “relatively new products in the market.”

McDonald said Bed Bath and Beyond is the only major retailer carrying its Fire Burners. Napa has about 5,000 customers, he said,  but for the most part they are small, independent operations.

“Millions of similar products from a variety of suppliers are being sold in most major mass market retailers and thousands of independent stores,” according to the company.

The Home Depot in Riverhead has a very similar ceramic gel burner product for sale called “Fire Pot,” manufactured by BirdBrain of Yipsilanti, Mich., which McDonald described as “the major player in the market.”

The Riverhead Wal-Mart also has a very similar product for sale, the “Tiki Firebowl,” which is distributed by the W.C. Bradley Co. of Columbus Ga., makers of Char-Broil grills.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has had at least eight other complaints of injuries involving gel candles or burners in the past year, a spokesman told The New York Times. The names and manufacturers of the involved products were not immediately available.